4 ms·

Well yes, I'm not saying the show is not flawed or silly. But I found it entertaining enough simply because it made me think 'what if .. ?'

by flexd 14y ago

elemeno 14y ago
In a similar vein is S.M. Stirling's Dies the Fire series. While it requires some suspension of disbelief, especially in so much as being able to accept the premise that certain technologies suddenly cease working, it's an enjoyable 'what if' senario of a series.
- flexd 14y ago
  I think I'm largely blind to such things when it comes to TV entertainment (and mostly movies). I never even thought of diesel engines not needing electricity, but that did not stop me from finding the show entertaining. I think I just naturally assume that since it's fiction anyway, the rules do not have to be followed. If entertainment and fiction always had to follow the rules of physics and our world, we wouldn't have anything like magic.
  - TeMPOraL 14y ago
    > If entertainment and fiction always had to follow the rules of physics and our world, we wouldn't have anything like magic. OTOH I'm surprised how much in terms of magic could be expalined given the technologies we have or can imagine right now. For instance, if we ever get our hands on working nanotech, all the elixirs and magic potions that change you in different ways could be reality (you'd just be ingesting a bunch of pre-programmed nanorobots / viruses along with a tasty juice) :).
    - flexd 14y ago
      That's true! You could explain 'magic' as simply being something your current technology could not explain. If you were able to show a person from the past a mobile phone, some video or even the time machine you would need to do so.. they would probably believe you were some kind of god or that the things you showed were magic.
      - jacquesm 14y ago
        That's so clever it's a miracle nobody thought about it before. Oh, wait: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws
        sea6ear 14y ago
        Also, see A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
        flexd 14y ago
        Does that make me as clever as the guy that first said that? :-P I think I've probably read that somewhere before.
  - andreasvc 14y ago
    The science doesn't have to be technically correct but if you start waving around magic wands it's simply not sci-fi anymore, which is a shame if your interest was piqued by the 'sci.' Some amount of rules always has to be followed in narratives; e.g., 'the parrot did it' in a whodunnit is (most likely) not acceptable.
andreasvc 14y ago
I like the premise because exploring the ramifications is interesting and useful. Unfortunately they then turn to magical plot devices. I was very let down by that; it got steadily less entertaining after the first few episodes (just like Fringe).
- Dylan16807 14y ago
  Yeah, I love the idea of the show, but then I read about the execution ( http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-10-dumbest-things-tv-so-far-this-season/ http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-10-dumbest-things-tv-so-far-... ) and have nothing to do but sigh.

Well yes, I'm not saying the show is not flawed or silly. But I found it entertaining enough simply because it made me think 'what if .. ?'

by flexd 14y ago

Well yes, I'm not saying the show is not flawed or silly. But I found it entertaining enough simply because it made me think 'what if .. ?'

elemeno 14y ago

In a similar vein is S.M. Stirling's Dies the Fire series. While it requires some suspension of disbelief, especially in so much as being able to accept the premise that certain technologies suddenly cease working, it's an enjoyable 'what if' senario of a series.

flexd 14y ago
I think I'm largely blind to such things when it comes to TV entertainment (and mostly movies). I never even thought of diesel engines not needing electricity, but that did not stop me from finding the show entertaining. I think I just naturally assume that since it's fiction anyway, the rules do not have to be followed. If entertainment and fiction always had to follow the rules of physics and our world, we wouldn't have anything like magic.
- TeMPOraL 14y ago
  > If entertainment and fiction always had to follow the rules of physics and our world, we wouldn't have anything like magic. OTOH I'm surprised how much in terms of magic could be expalined given the technologies we have or can imagine right now. For instance, if we ever get our hands on working nanotech, all the elixirs and magic potions that change you in different ways could be reality (you'd just be ingesting a bunch of pre-programmed nanorobots / viruses along with a tasty juice) :).
  - flexd 14y ago
    That's true! You could explain 'magic' as simply being something your current technology could not explain. If you were able to show a person from the past a mobile phone, some video or even the time machine you would need to do so.. they would probably believe you were some kind of god or that the things you showed were magic.
    - jacquesm 14y ago
      That's so clever it's a miracle nobody thought about it before. Oh, wait: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws
      - sea6ear 14y ago
        Also, see A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
      - flexd 14y ago
        Does that make me as clever as the guy that first said that? :-P I think I've probably read that somewhere before.
- andreasvc 14y ago
  The science doesn't have to be technically correct but if you start waving around magic wands it's simply not sci-fi anymore, which is a shame if your interest was piqued by the 'sci.' Some amount of rules always has to be followed in narratives; e.g., 'the parrot did it' in a whodunnit is (most likely) not acceptable.

andreasvc 14y ago

I like the premise because exploring the ramifications is interesting and useful. Unfortunately they then turn to magical plot devices. I was very let down by that; it got steadily less entertaining after the first few episodes (just like Fringe).

Dylan16807 14y ago
Yeah, I love the idea of the show, but then I read about the execution ( http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-10-dumbest-things-tv-so-far-this-season/ http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-10-dumbest-things-tv-so-far-... ) and have nothing to do but sigh.